Istee



(No Model.) 1 J. W. DENNY. LAST.

Patented July 3 UNITED ST TES PATENT FFKIE.

Jo N W. DENNY, 0E NEWARK, NEw JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO JAMES A. BAN- ISTEE, 0E SAME rLAoE.

LAST.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 280,724, dated July 3, 1883.

Application filed January 23, 1883. (.No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN W. DENNY, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city of Newark, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Lasts, fully described and represented in the following specification and the accompanying drawings, forming a part of the same.

This invention consists in certain attachments to a shoe-maker s last, whereby it is fitted to resist the pressure required in heeling shoes by any power heeling-machines. In such machines the last is supported in an inverted position, or with the sole upward beneath a naildie, against which it is pressed with great force by screw or toggle mechanism. As the bearing-surface upon the top of the last is narrowest toward the rear, such narrow part is very liable to yield under the pressure applied in forcing the nails into the heels, and the last is in consequence tipped over into an improper position, and the heels are set more and more out of level the more the last is used.

This invention consists in providing the upper side of the last with a metallic plate applied parallel to the heel-seat, by which top plate the pressure is evenly distributed over the entire surface of the heel, and the last is sustained permanently in the proper position to receive the heel with equal pressure overthe whole surface during the process.

The invention also consists in forming a sleeve or thimble upon the inner side of the,

top plate, and extending the same through the last to a contact with the heel-plate provided on the bottom of the last, and thus forming a metallic connection between metallic plates on both upper and lower sides of the last.

Theinvention also consists in combining a ter of the last. The nail-die and pressing-spindle of a heeling-machine are also indicated in the Same view as operating to press the heel upon the last for nailing. the last; and Fig. 3, a perspective view of the bed-plate, thimble, and heel-plate in their normal relation, but detached from the last to show their construction more plainly.

A is the last; B, the metallic heel-plate; O, a shoe-sole lying on the last, and D a heel in position for nailing. When prepared for heeling, the sole would of course be secured to the upper of the shoe; but the upper is not shown, to avoid confusing the drawings.

E is the nail-die, and F the pressingspindle of the heeling-machine, showing how the last is supported upon the spindle and pressed upward against the die to clamp the heel to the sole firmly while the nailpunches drive the nails. The dotted line :0 w in Fig. 1 is drawn parallel with the heel-plate B, and the dotted line y y indicates the usual shape or angle of the opposite side of the last now laid upon the spindle F.

G is the top plate, secured upon'the top of Fig. 2 is a plan of the last, opposite-the heel-plate B, by a thimble, a, the latter being extended through the last to the heel-plate, and its lower end, 6, flanged over or riveted around the hole through the last to keep the thimble and plate G securely in place. The plate G is made parallel with the heel-plate B, as shown in Fig. 1, and the last isthus held in the required position to set and hold the heel D at a proper level with the sole, while the contact of the thimble a with the heel-plate B relieves the wood at the rear of thelast almost entirely of pressure, and thus increases its durability greatly. The hole 0, inside the thimble a, is used to place on the pin of the jack, the toe of the last being supported by the toe-rest provided for that purpose, upon which it is placed by lifting or springing it forcibly upward. Such lifting strains the j ack-pin in the hole 0 violently toward the rear end of the last, and such strain is further aggravated by hammering and nailing upon the upturned sole, and frequently causes the last to split open at the rear end. By the use of my combined thimble and bed plate, the former being clinched or riveted upon the lower side of the last, and the latter covering the whole top, such strength is imparted to the hole 0 and the rear end of the last as to preserve it entirely from splitting.

I am aware that a thimble is not new in the rear of a last, as sheet-metal thimbles are often placed there to resist the wear of the jack-pin, and a thimble with a small rectangular flange at the top has been patented, as No. 89,229, for strengthening the hole in the last and to form a locking device for the instep-block I. In such invention, however, the whole device is unsuited for use in a heeling-machine, as the flange employed is not set parallel with the heel-plate, because it was not designed to fit on a level-topped spindle, as F, and as it does not cover the whole rear of the last on top, and has no thimble carried all the way through the last, it is obvious that it would give no material support to the last under powerful pressure, even if it would hold the last level. That it could not do this will be seen by reference to Fig. 2, where the last-top is shown of the usual form of partly triangular and curved shape, with the narrower part at the rear end. Such narrow part must of course yield first under pressure, on account of its limited area, and the heel be unavoidably tipped over in the heeling-machine. Although such part is not covered by any plate in the said Patent No. 89,229, it is adapted for use on a jack where the strain is confined to the hole and the surface receives no pressure. The conditions are, however, all different in a last intended for use in a heeling-machine, where no strain whatever is exerted in the hole 0, and special necessity exists for means to hold the last level and resist a crushing vertical strain.

I am also aware that a combined standard and heel-plate has been applied to a last by boring a hole through the last, as in my inven tion, and then cutting an open slot through the wood from said hole all the way out to the rear end of the last. Such construction. affords a strong resistance to the pressure of the heeling-machine, but makes no provision for the constant shrinkage of the last, which varies its thickness from time to time, and thus pro duces an irregular joint between the wood and the iron standard when the latter is exposed at the whole rear of the slot. Such construction also weakens the wood very greatly, while mine adds to the strength by removing but little more wood than the jack-pin and re-e-nforcing the same with the metallic sleeve. I do not therefore claim that mine is the only means of protecting the last from the heelingpressure; but I secure such construction without weakening the wood of the last by facing both upper and lower sides with metal and interposing a metallic stem or sleeve to relieve the wood of the pressure.

I use a malleable metal for the thimble a-as brass or malleable iron-that the tube may be riveted over 011 the wood, as at c; and the use of such metal also enables the thimble to yield or become shorter when subjected to pressure, if the last shrinks in thickness, as lasts fre quently do, with age. The metal at e is-preferably made thin enough to yield in the heelpress, in such a case, when the whole pressure of the machine would be thrown upon the riveted end of the thimble; and malleable iron is especially useful for such purpose, as it possesses great stiffness, so as to aid in. holding the plate G level when the thimble is fitted tightly into the last, and it is also less liable to crack under pressure than other metals. By forming a hole, 0, all the way through the thimble the latter is made to serve a double function, and may be provided with a removable plug, (I, driven in the hole next the heelplate 13, into which a tack, I), can be driven by workmen when making the shoe. A hole is therefore made in the heel-plate continuous with the hole 0, and the plug, which is made of wood or other soft material, can then be driven out by a punch inserted from the upper side, when it needs renewing. The thimble, when made integral with the bed-plate G, not only serves to stiffen the plate, but .to secure it to the top of the last without any other fastenings, and thus avoids the weakening of the wood at its narrowest part with screws, or with prongs, such as are shown in said Patent No 89,229. To further aid in holding the thimble in the last, and to prevent it from turning around and displacing the bed-plate G with reference to the seat on which it rests, the thimble may be made with longitudinal corrugations or grooves, as shown in Fig. 4, or roughened in any other appropriate manner.

To admit the use of a nail such as is commonly used for tacking the rear end of the instep-block I to the last, I form a notch or recess, a, in the forward end of the bed-plate G, and thus make room upon the flattened top of the last for the nail 122, (shown in Fig. 1,) and the hole for which the piece is indicated in Fig. 2 at m.

In Fig. 4 a series of intersecting grooves, g, are shown at one end of the top plate and. a series of holes,f, at the other end. Such holes or grooves are intended to catch upon the clamps used in heel-trimming and other machines in which the last may be used, and in which the last is rotated by the clamp. Such holes fare adapted to fit a projecting pin upon the clamp, and to prevent the last from turning independently of the clamp but as their use requires the operator to fit the pin in such hole, I prefer to use a self-adjusting device, which I have invented, in the grooves y, applied to the surface of the plate G. Such grooves may be formed diagonally, or in any direction across the face of the plate, their depressions serving to catch any projection provided in a clamping device, and to prevent the last from turning. The under side of the plate may also be cast rough 01' slightly grooved to aid in holding it in the desired position upon the wooden last by the induced friction.

It is obvious that the advantages of my invention may be partly and cheaply secured without joining the top plate, G, to the resisting-sleeve a, as the plate may be made separate and secured upon the top of the last with screws or nails. This mode of construction is shown in Fig. 5, and in such case the tube a may be made of apiece of wrought-iron pipe, and'the two plates of any other desired material. The pressure applied in heeling the shoe would of course be transmitted through the sleeve a in the same manner as if part of the plate G.

To retain the peg in the lower end of the hole a the hole may be tapered, andwhen constructed thus the peg is better enabled to support the driving of the heel-tack I), while the taper assists materially in releasing the plug when the latter is to be driven out.

I am aware that it is not new to insert aremovable plug in a bottom heel-plate, and that various means are already known for holding 2o and removing such plugs; but my invention consists in forming the hole for the plug all the way through the last, and in using partly the hole made to receive the jack-pin, that the plug may be forced out by a punch from the top side'of the last, as described.

Having thus fully set forth the nature and object of my invention and distinguished it from others preceding it, I claim the same in the following manner:

1. The combination, with the heel-plate B Y driven out by a punch inserted in the hole from the upper side, as herein shown and de scribed.

3. The combination, with the last A, of the plate G, having ahole for the jack-pin formed therein, and provided with the grooves g, to hold the last from turning, substantially as shown and described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JOHN W. DENNY. 

